


Hogwarts Sentinel Program

by aievans



Series: Sentinels of Hogwarts [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter - Marauders
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Death Eaters, Dementors, Marauders, Marauders era, Ministry of Magic, Order of the Phoenix - Freeform, Strategy, War, anti-werewolf sentiments, pre-war Marauders, the Ministry is dumb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 19:34:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9199505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aievans/pseuds/aievans
Summary: War is coming and the Ministry is desperate to gain many things, which means it's sticking it's nosy head into the business of Albus Dumbledore and his school.This is a prologue-type piece for a longer work I'm creating.  More information in end notes.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Squid!](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Squid%21).



The summer of 1976 was a rough one for the Wizarding World. Muggleborns were going missing, and the ministry was doing little to stop it. There was a threat to the attendance of Hogwarts though, and the Ministry couldn’t let that happen. Hogwarts was one of the safest places in the world, and it was also where the Ministry got all their Aurors and Spellbreakers from, something they couldn’t be short of with the coming war. Voldemort wasn’t going to slow down, that much was sure. That was what brought the still new Minister of Magic, Harold Minchum, to the office of Albus Dumbledore. 

“Dumbledore, I implore you to see reason! We need to ease the minds of parents and ensure that we keep students here at Hogwarts. Imagine if Durmstrang has more attendance than Hogwarts! I am sure that you have heard the rumors that He is recruiting from there. I trust you more than I trust anyone, and I know that you can keep our students safe, but we cannot have parents pulling out.”

“Harold,” Dumbledore said, unflustered by the Minister’s outbreak. In fact, he didn’t seem at all bothered, sucking on a lemon drop as he spoke. “I am not having Dementors stationed at Hogwarts. I know that you have had great success with them at Azkaban, but I will not have those creatures near my students.”

Minchum sighed, rubbing his hand over his face before rolling his shoulders back. He leaned his hands on Dumbledore’s desk, Dumbledore still not batting an eye.

“Dumbledore, is this about the werewolf legislation that might be passed? Do I need to take to make sure that it doesn’t pass?”

It was only then that Minchum got a rise out of Dumbledore. However, Dumbledore was not one to yell. Instead, there was a darkness that passed over his eyes. “I am not one to ask for political favors. You know this, Harold. I will not blackmail you, no matter how much I am against this legislation. I am surprised at who Dolores Umbridge has gotten on her side – Newt Scamander of all people. I am not here to discuss this though. I may have interests in it, but I am not going to blackmail.”

Minchum sighed, collapsing into the seat across the desk from Dumbledore. “There is – there is another option. Being that August begins tomorrow, we will have to rush to get it together.” Dumbledore nodded for Minchum to continue, popping another lemon drop in his mouth. “It was actually Alastor Moody who suggested it, the junior Auror. We could place a guard, Sentinels, at Hogwarts. The Ministry would hand pick a group of Hogwarts graduates who excelled in Defense Against the Dark Arts, as well as Charms and Transfigurations, to be a shield between Hogwarts and the – occurrences.”

“Will I have control over who is picked for this – Sentinel Program?”

“Dumbledore, you must understand that we highly respect you and your input. However, given how close we are to the start of term. Well, I don’t believe we will have the time to allow you a second over who is chosen. You can rest assured that I myself will check who I put on this Sentinel Program. We only want the best to keep Hogwarts safe.”

Dumbledore didn’t say anything, and for Minchum, this was rather unsettling. Minchum knew the power that Dumbledore held. 

“I will not deny this program,” Dumbledore said. “Under two conditions. Alastor Moody is put in charge of it, and Sybil Trewlaney is put in it. She was not the best at Defense Against the Dark Arts, but she is someone I would like to have close during the coming times. She may become important.”

Minchum raised an eyebrow. “Of course Moody will be place here, in charge of the sentinels. After all, he is the one who came up with the idea. I couldn’t think of anyone better than him to lead the Sentinel Program. Why you would want Trewlaney in on your program, I have no idea…”

“Do not mistake this as my program, Harold. It is hardly even Alastor’s program now. It is the ministry’s program, and you will own up to that. Success and failures of the program will be attributed to you, not to me.”

“Yes, yes, whatever. Why you would want the Trewlaney girl to be a part of the program, I have no idea. But as you will most likely not be able to look over who is admitted, I will give you that.”

“Is there anything else you require, Harold? I have a meeting with Minerva McGonagall discussing some Hogwarts business.”

“That is all, Albus. Keep in touch.”

With that, Harold Minchum rose and took to the fire place. With a handful of floo powder, he disappeared from the office. Once he was gone, Dumbledore’s shoulders slumped a little. He took his glasses off, rubbing his hands over his face. He thought that perhaps he was getting to old for this, but there was really no one else he would want in this position. He trusted Minerva, but he couldn’t ask her to do this.

He looked up at a knock on the door. Minerva McGonagall didn’t wait for him to respond before sweeping in and perching herself in the chair Minchum vacated only moments before.

“The Ministry?” she asked.

“Is scared. Harold wanted to post Dementors at Hogwarts, but I told him that I will have no such thing. They still don’t believe that the Dementors would side with Tom,” Dumbledore said. 

“I still can’t believe that Tom Riddle is behind this all. Though that’s not what he’s calling himself these days, is it?” McGonagall asked.

“No, it is not. There are only a handful who know what lies behind the mask he has created. Now is not the time to discuss Tom, however. Now, we must discuss other matters. The Ministry is implementing a sort of guard program at Hogwarts. They are calling it the Sentinel Program, and other than two requests they are not letting me have input on the program.”

“What merits are they going by?” 

“High scores in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, and Charms.”

McGonagall sighed, shaking her head. Dumbledore and McGonagall had always shared a similar mind set. With only a look, they could know what the other was thinking, due to the years they had spent working together. 

“Well, the Weasleys may be asked,” McGonagall began. “Arthur was always so good and charms and his sister, Melissa, was quick with hexes. Molly, the Prewett girl who married Arthur, will probably insist on coming as well.”

“They have three children, do they not? Arthur and Molly, that is? We will have to make sure that is arranged for. We need as many good souls as possible, and the Weasleys are a family we can trust.”

“You – you don’t think the Ministry will put the Black sisters in the program, do you?”

“I fear that they might. Bellatrix was one of the top in her year for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Andromeda – well she is a complicated matter.”

“She married the muggleborn, Ted, didn’t she?” 

“She did, and her family disowned her for it. I do not think they will pick sides during this war, but it could cause problems if both are admitted.”

“Albus, what are we going to do?”

“Minerva, have we sent out the Hogwarts Letters yet? No, good then. I believe we need to make some changes to the Prefect and Head Boy and Girl. I would like to increase our faith in what we do have control over.”

“Of course. Are we keeping James Potter as a Gryffindor Prefect?”

“Yes. I believe it will be good for him. The coming year will be tough for him and his friends, and I believe that giving him that position will help him grow a great deal. However, there are some Slytherin Prefects that I do believe we should change, as well as some Ravenclaws. I do not think putting Antheia Driscoll as a Prefect will be in our best interest.”

“Of course. Let me get the list, and we may begin changing things.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So this is a prologue piece to a longer work I'm creating. The work itself won't be posted until I get a good chunk into it. I'm hoping that this month I'll be able to get a lot of it done as I don't go back to college until the 21st and classes don't start until the 30th. So this is part one of the series.  
> This series is heavily based on a roleplay group me and my best friend have created! We wanted to create a Marauders Era roleplay group, and so we came up with this idea. I loved it so much I wanted to create a fic revolving around it. Sydney will also be on ao3 soon and said she's going to post drabbles that revolve around the minor characters in my fic, which I will link to when she has up. Even though she isn't writing these with me, she is the co-creator of this idea (no co-author, co-creator), and she is an amazing author and deserves so much love.  
> Our group is on instagram, mainly because we tried tumblr and got no activity. Check it out here: www.instagram.com/sentinel.hprp  
> I will be posting another short piece about which characters will be involved in my story today, as a kind of thing to hopefully get you guys excited! Also, I wanted to let you know that my fic will include at least the following ships (if not more): Remus Lupin/Sirius Black, James Potter/Lily Evans, Molly Weasley/Arthur Weasley (already established-minor), Alice Lewis/Frank Longbottom(minor), Andromeda Black/Ted Tonks(minor), Narcissa Black/Lucius Malfoy(minor), and Pandora Williams/Xenophilius Lovegood(minor)
> 
> Love you all! Comment your thoughts below!


End file.
